Support for shifting shuttle boxes



March 8, 1955 DlON ET AL SUPPORT FOR SHIFTING SHUTTLE BOXES Filed Feb. 1, 1954 FIG.2

FIG.3

INVENTORS RAYMOND E mom PHILIP ANIMS ATTORNEY United States Patent O SUPPORT FOR SHIFTING SHUTTLE BOXES Raymond F. Dion and Philip A. Nims, Worcester, Mass., assignors to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 1, 1954, Serial No. 407,210

Claims. (Cl. 139-182) This invention relates to improvements in supports for shifting shuttle boxes usable more particularly on automatic pick and pick looms.

Certain types of looms such as those for weaving pic and pick fabrics ordinarily employ'shifting shuttle boxes which are in raised position under the reserve bobbin magazine when a bobbin is changed. In some types of pick and pick looms, such as those for mixing filling, a shuttle is absent from the lower shuttle box on transferring beats of the loom to enable a support position by the shuttle binder to move into supporting position with respect to the shuttle boxes, but before the boxes move down a shuttle enters the lower box and moves the support out of position so it will not interfere with descent of the boxes. In other types of pick and pick looms however, such as those for operating with two shuttles, a support of the type already mentioned cannot be used because of the fact that no shuttle is present in the lower box when the boxes move down and a form of support must be employed which is independent of the shuttle binder.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide the lay of the loom with a shuttle box support which rises and falls with the box and is so made that it can cooperate with lock means controlled independently of presence or absence of a shuttle in the lower box to support the boxes in high position to withstand the downward force of the transferrer arm incident to a weft replenishing operation and then move out of locking position in time to permit the boxes to move down.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a guide for a vertically movable box support and associate the guide with a lock which moves toward supporting position and can reach this position only in the event that the shuttle boxes are in high position.

Shuttle boxes ordinarily shift when the lay is in the forward part of its reciprocation, the box shifting period starting during the latter part of the forward motion of the lay and ending during the first part of the succeeding rearward motion of the lay. The aforesaid lock means will be in non-locking position prior to the beginning of a box shifting period, and will move toward locking position after the beginning of a shifting period but before the lay reaches front center. If the boxes are to shift down from a high position they will have started their motion at the beginning of a period when the lock means is not yet in locking position and the lock will not interfere with down motion of the boxes. If, on the other hand, the boxes remain high during the period the lock can complete its motion to locking position so that it can cooperate with the support to enable the boxes to withstand the downward force incident to bobbin transfer.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a support slidable within a guide and normally held upwardly against the-boxes by a spring or the like located within the guide. The spring yields to permit the support to move downwardly when the boxes are to descend from their high position and serves the purpose of always maintaining contact between the support and the shuttle boxes. The spring may conveniently be located partly at least within a hollow part of the support.

A stand with which the support is associated will ordinarily be secured to the lay end in which the boxes shift and in order to adapt the support to slight variations which may exist between the lay end and the shuttle boxes it is a further object of the invention to provide the ice support with an adjustable upper end which can be raised or lowered with respect to the support to insure proper cooperation between the latter and the lock means.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of part of a loom having the invention applied thereto,

I i Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2-2,

5 I Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1,

4 is an enlarged vertical section on line 4-4, 1g.

Figs. 5 and 6 are horizontal sections on lines 5-5 and 66, respectively, Fig. 4, and

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views showing the lay and shuttle boxes in different positions.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame -1 supports a rocker shaft 2 to which is secured the lower end of a lay sword 3 which extends upwardly to support a lay 4 having a lay end 5. There are two lay swords and associated parts but only one of them is shown in Fig. 1.

Secured to the rocker shaft 2 is a rocker foot 6 having vertically slidable therein a box lifted rod 7 the upper end of which is operatively connected to a gang G of shuttle boxes which in the present instance comprises upper and lower box cells or shuttle boxes 8 and 9, respectively. The box lifter rod may be raised in any convenient means as by a flexible connector 10 leading to a" head motion at the opposite end of the loom and is pushed downwardly by a spring 11 surrounding the rod 7. The parts 10 and 11 are shown as one form of means for raising and lowering the gang G. When the gang G is in high position as shown in Fig. 1, the lower shuttle box 9 will be in active picking position but when the gang drops to its low position the upper cell 8 will be aligned with the lay and in picking position.

Fig. 1 indicates part of mechanism for transferring a bobbin into a shuttle S when the latter is in the top box 8 and the gang G is in high position. A magazine designated generally at M supports a reserve bobbin B and a transferrer hammer T is provided to press the bobbin B into the shuttle S as the lay moves forwardly toward its front center position. The upper and lower shuttle boxes are provided with binders 12 and 13, respectively, of usual form, and the lay end 5 is provided with a back plate 15 and a horizontal bottom 16 and is reciprocated backwardly and forwardly by the usual connectors one of which is shown at 17.

The structure thus far described is of usual construction and will operate in known manner, but it should be noted that the conditions prevailing in the type of loom to which the invention more particularly relates is likely to call for a downward motion of the gang G when the shuttle box 9 is empty. Previously usedsupports for the shuttle gang G would prevent downward motion of the gang unless a shuttle were present in the lower box to push the support forwardly to non-interfering position.

In carrying the present invention into effect there is provided a stand 20 having feet 21 and 22 which are fastened securely to the bottom plate '16 by bolts 23 passing through slots 2-4 which extend backwardly and forwardly in the stand to permit adjustment of the latter in a direction toward and from the vertical plate 15. The stand includes a column 25 provided with a bore 26 which in the present instance is cylindrical although the invention is not necessarily limited to a bore of this shape. The column has extending forwardly therefrom an arm 27, and a slot 28 in the forward part of the column communicates with the upper part of bore 26 and also divides the foot 27 into two parts 27a as shown for instance in Fig. 5.

Slidably mounted in the vertical bore 26 is a support member 30 which in the present instance is cylindrical to fit the bore. The upper end of the support is provided with an adjusting screw 31 to engage the bottom floor 32 of the lower shuttle box 9 and a lock nut 33 is provided to hold the adjustment of the screw with respect to the support. The lower end of the support is provided with a bore 35 which receives the upper end of a compression spring 36 contained within the column and having the lower end thereof located by a positioner 37. As shown in Fig. 4 the positioner is in the lower end of the bore 26 and rests on the horizontal plate 16 of the lay end and has an upwardly extending lug 38 which centers the lower end of the spring 36. Extending around the support is a circumferential groove 40 the upper part of which defines a supporting shoulder 41 which when the support is in high position is accessible through the slot 28.

The arms 27a support a horizontal shaft 45 rockable therein and having a collar 46 pinned thereto at 47. A torsion spring 48 has one end 49 thereof extending into the collar and has the other end 50 thereof extending into one of the arms 27a. The effect of this spring is to turn the shaft 45 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4.

Secured to the end of shaft 45 opposite the spring is an arm provided with a laterally extending pin 56 which extends through a slot 57 in a rod head 58 on the upper end of a rod 59 the lower end of which can pivot around a stationary stud 60. The stud is carried by a small stand 61 secured at 62 to the loom frame 1. The stud is forward of the rocker shaft 2 as shown for instance in Figs. 7-9.

A lock means 65 shown here as a thin arm preferably metallic is fitted into the slot 28 between the two arms 27a and is pinned at 66 to the shaft 45. The lock means has an upper end 67 passing through the upper end of the slot 28 and shaped so that it can fit into the notch 40 under the supporting shoulder 41.

It is to be understood that the gang G shifts with respect to the lay when the latter is in the forward part of its reciprocating motion during a period which begins during the latter part of the forward motion of the lay after the time for shuttle boxing and ending during the first part of the ensuing rearward motion of the lay prior to the piclging operation. Fig. 7 shows diagrammatically the position of the lay when it is on its back center position when the boxes will be stationary with respect to the lay end 5. When the lay is in this position the rod 59 because of the location of stud 60 with respect to the rocker shaft 2 will pull downwardly on the arm 55 and hold the lock means 65 spaced forwardly from the support 30. As the lay moves forwardly it will reach a point at which the period for box shifting has its beginning. At this time in the loom cycle the lay will be in some such position as indicated in Fig. 8 with the lock means 65 moved rearwardly but not yet in engagement with the support 30. It is to be understood that the boxes will not necessarily shift during every period assigned to box shifting. but the lock means will have a back and forth motion for every beat of the lay.

As the lay continues to move forwardly, to the left in Fig. 8, the lock means 65 will move toward its locking position. If the shuttle gang G is still up, not being shifted during that period of the loom cycle. the upper end 67 of the arm 65 will move into the notch 40 under the shoulder 41. This will ordinarily happen before the lay reaches its front center position and any upward motion of the rod 59 occurring thereafter will be permitted by the slot 57. The spring 36 causes the support to rise and fall with the gang G and will therefore be able to hold the notch 40 in the position to permit entrv by the end 67 provided the gang G is in its high position with respect to the lay. If on that beat of the loom a weft replenishing operation should occur any downward force exerted by the transferrer arm T on the gang G will be transmitted through the support 30 and lock means 65 to the shaft 45 the axis of which is fixed with respect to the lay, thereby preventing substantial downward motion of the gang G. As the lay moves rearwardly, or to the right from the position shown in Fig. 9, after front center the lock means will be moved forwardly relative to the lay and the lock will be out of supporting relation with respect to the support 30 at the beginning of the next box shifting period.

If the gang G should start down immediately upon the beginning of a box shifting period while the lock means is spaced from the support 30 the notch 40 will have been moved downwardly in the column 25 sufiiciently so that when the arm 65 tries to move toward its locking position it will engage the upper part of the support above the notch and will not be able to reach supporting position with respect to the shoulder 41. The support and box can therefore descend without interference by the lock means 65.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a simple form of shuttle box supporting mechanism including the support 30 which rises and falls with the gang G and including also the lock means 65 which can move into notch 40 provided the gang G is not moving down during a box shifting period of loom operation. It will further be seen that the lock means cannot move to a position in which it could support the shuttle boxes until after the beginning of the box shifting period. Also, the upper end of the support 30 is provided with an adjustable box engaging element 31 which can be raised or lowered with respect to the support.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a loom having a backwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay provided with shuttle boxes which have a vertical shifting movement from a high to a low position relative to the lay during certain periods of loom opera tion occurring when the lay is in the forward part of its motion, a stand on the lay under the boxes, a shuttle box support movable vertically with respect to the stand and moving down with the shuttle boxes when the latter have said shifting movement, lock means mounted on the stand for movement toward locking position with respect to the support after the beginning of each of said periods, and means on the support cooperating with the lock means to prevent downward motion of the support and boxes in the event the boxes are in high position when the lock means moves toward locking position.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the support is separate from the boxes and means are provided to hold it up against the boxes.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the stand is a guide for the support containing a spring which holds the support up against the boxes.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the support is separate from the boxes and a spring holds the support up against the boxes and yields to enable the boxes to move the support downwardly with respect to the stand.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the support is cylindrical and is formed with a circumferential groove defining a shoulder forming the means on the support for cooperating with the lock means.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the lock means is an arm pivoted on the stand having an end to enter a circumferential groove in the support.

7. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper end of the support is provided with a vertically adjustable element for engagement with the boxes.

8. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the stand has a bore therein and the support is slidable in the bore and a spring exerts an upward force on the support holding it against the boxes.

9. The structure set forth in claim 8 wherein the lower part of the support is hollow and receives the spring.

10. in a loom having a lay reciprocating backwardly and forwardly and provided with shuttle boxes which shift vertically to high and low positions relative to the lay during periods of loom operation when the lay is in the forward part of its motion. a stand on the lay under the boxes provided with a vertical hollow guide column, said column having a vertical slot in one side thereof communicating with the interior of the column, a support slidable vertically in the column and rising and falling with the shuttle boxes as the latter shift and formed with a horizontal groove defining a shoulder, a lock arm pivoted on the stand for movement through said slot into engagement with the support after the beginning of each of said periods. said lock arm cooperating with the support by entry into said groove and engagement with said shoulder to prevent downward motion of the support and boxes provided the boxes are in high position when the lock arm engages the support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,300,199 Brouwer Oct. 27, 1942 2,300,200 Brouwer Oct. 27, 1942 2.300.217 Grzesik Oct. 27, 1942 2,669,260 Foisy et al. Feb. 16, 1954 

